Safar
"You're a fool if you believe Loth is the most powerful Verditian. Safar's strength lies in his ability to enact the wrath of the Empire. No Warlord could ever stand against that! Even the mighty supremacy trembles when Safar draws his blade." -Vredius, educating a young Anuevin. Intro 'Safar the Residen '''is the first Verditian Lord of the Verdish Empire. Safar's leadership oversaw the liberation of his people and following military struggles to claim Verdite as an independent nation-state. Safar's leadership was highly direct, as he was known to personally take up arms and fight alongside the warriors of the empire. Reverence for Safar is still common within modern Verdite. While his stubbornness is acknowledged, it is thought that it was essential to stand against the opposing might of the Supremacy. Safar was a very capable warrior, surpassed by only the champion and warlord class of fighters. As an old Verdish he had an unusually long life (compared to modern humans) and naturally accumulated high-skill in governance, combat, and blacksmithing. History In the Beginning... Safar’s early life has fallen into obscurity as history unfolds. What is clear, is that he spent his formative years enslaved in Kellasento. As Safar recounts: He was awoken in a complete daze by his cellmate, Jeul, telling him that the cell was left open. Obviously Safar did not believe him at first. It always took Safar a few minutes to adjust to reality, for the holding cells for the slaves of the Vathtor were crude at best. The floors were stone and seemingly always damp. The only respite a slave received was if a moss colony had grown large enough to provide some form of bedding. No matter how much sleep was obtained before, this prison had a way of siphoning all of your energy. His eyes had yet to adjust to the gate frame of his cell. By the time it did, Jeul had already fled! The prospect of freedom is enough of an adrenaline dump to wake anyone! Safar jumped to his feet and immediately exited his cell. Naturally, seeing a freed man caught the attention of the other slaves. The entire block was in an uproar! Safar couldn’t even begin to account for how long he’d been confined to that shit-hole every night. But one thing he did remember with absolute clarity was where his brother Loth was held. Sprinting down the long torch-lit corridor, he made his way to Loth’s cell. When he arrived, he pounded his fists excitedly against the bars. Calling out to his brother. Loth was resting against the moss-infested wall with his head buried in his arms. Safar’s call seemed to wake him from his nap as he snapped back to consciousness. It was surreal to see his brother on the outside of his cell, especially at night. The punishment for this act was surely death. Safar’s excitement didn’t leave a lot of time for discussion. He simply promised to free his brother from this hellish nightmare, but he knew that every minute he lingered: it was more likely that he would fail in his great escape. He didn’t say goodbye, there was no reason to! He just ran into the shadows, slowly fading from Loth’s vision. Safar wasn’t really even sure where he was going, all he knew was that most guards kept keys on them, but they also were never caught without weaponry! He played it out over and over in his head, trying to figure out how he could overcome one of them with no real tools to aid him. Perhaps if he could sneak up behind them! But then again these guards didn’t really seem to be taken by surprise easily, Vathtor were known to have an excellent sense of smell and hearing…and it had been over a month since Safar’s last bath. His thoughts were shattered as he came to a cross section. There he gazed upon the carnage of a slaughter. He noticed his cellmate, Jeul, dead on the floor, along with a few guards. His cellmate couldn’t have possibly killed all of them, he was too frail and cowardly! He searched over the corpses; the wounds were not from a blade. It was as if they were mangled by a rabid beast. He frantically searched through the slain guards’ armor looking for a cell key, but he found nothing. In his frustration he lifted a guard’s helmet and cast it into the shadows, collapsing against a wall in despair. The echo of hollow iron filled the corridors. Then there was silence. The overwhelming sense of failure was tormenting him as he pondered his next move. Safar sat there trying to remember where others were stationed but fear overtook him as the silence was shattered from the sound of heavy breathing just beyond his vision. Safar tried to focus into the shadows but all that could be seen was the dim luminescence of two emerald eyes. Terrified, he took the sword from the fallen guard and presented it towards his hidden foe. He clenched the handle with all of his might, on the surface he seemed ready for anything but inside he was falling apart, he could only imagine the horrors that await him. It stepped from the shadows, unafraid to stand in the light, allowing Safar to gaze upon it. There before him stood a sentinel of the Supremacy’s army. A demon: the very embodiment of chaos. Its skin was brown with obvious scars scattered upon its leathery-hide. It had long gangly arms and legs that bore claws that had been known to not only shred flesh but iron and bronze as well! Its jaw had an extreme under-bite that it let hang open, revealing its rows of dagger-like teeth. A tendril of saliva dripped to the floor as it took one step closer to Safar. Safar prepped for its attack he reared his sword back winding up for a swing that would cleave the abomination’s head from its horrid body. But the demon was already on the offensive! It sprinted at him, screeching in hellish fury as it wildly clawed at him. His sword was knocked from his hands mid-swing as the demon’s flailing appendage made contact. The demon closed the final gap biting for Safar’s neck! But Safar intercepted the bite by guarding with his right arm! The demon sunk its teeth into the flesh of his forearm and began dragging him away from the disarmed blade. Safar struggled to retake the weapon but every time he came close, the demon would buck its head and pull him that much further away. Safar’s blood ran thick down his arm as the demon pinned him to the ground with its right arm. It wasted no time to slash into his side with its free arm, attacking swiftly and violently. Safar knew he would not survive this onslaught for very long, his sides were being torn apart with every blow. His only hope now was to stop that arm! With every strike Safar tried to intercept and grab its limb, he missed three times before he finally got hold of its boney appendage. The pain of his right arm was overbearing, he knew if this kept up he would succumb to it. He focused all his strength into this final stand as he began bending the demon’s arm against its natural flex. They battled between one another’s brawn until the struggle was ended with the echoing sound of a snap! The demon retracted its bite as it flailed its broken arm wildly in agony. Safar dragged himself backward, giving himself some distance. This was it! If he didn’t go for the weapon now the demon would suppress its pain and come at him again with an even greater vengeance! He scrambled towards the sword grasping it with his left arm. The feel of cold iron against his palm was almost medicinal. He rose to his feet with renewed vigor and approached the frantic demon. With a furious scream Safar lifted the blade to the heavens only to quickly bring it plummeting down with all his might. He chopped it into the demons skull. As the demon’s life began to fade away Safar braced his leg against its chest and freed his ledged sword from its split cranium. With a series of stumbles he fell back against a wall, slowly sinking to the damp stone, dropping his sword. Attempting to catch his breath he watched in horror as the blood from his right arm crawled across the floor. He dare not look at his mangled flesh for the sight of it would undoubtedly cause him to collapse. He had earned a moments rest as he shut his eyes trying to control his breathing. But an echoing voice came rushing through the darkness. “You there!” Safar’s heart sank. It was the voice of one of his masters. “What are you doing human!?” The master called out to him as he came into vision. Safar did not respond, he did not have it in him to play along today. “Slave! Answer me!” The master called yet again, now standing merely feet away. He finally responded, speaking slowly and clearly. “I am free..." The master chuckled as he admired the corpse of the demon invader. “Today human, all your kind will earn their right to exist. Today the world of the ancients unfolds as we give way to the world of mortals.” Confused, Safar peered up at him. A large grey skinned humanoid was peering down at him with its piercing blue eyes. It was a Vathtor, and as is common among his race, he bore no hair and his leathery skin was covered in white-ink tattoos. He was garbed in long flowing robes seemingly constructed of tattered fabrics. They called these Vathtor the wraiths. Safar knew who this paticular ancient was; it was Corpus, king of the Vathtor, the race that enslaved his people. “Why?” Safar questioned. He no longer felt a need to respect his status as slave. Corpus motioned down the hallway. “On the surface the Supremacy have finally broken us! I cannot allow your race to serve their war!” He paused for a moment, kneeling down to Safar’s level. “Welcome to war mortal, it’s time you earn your place in this world!” Corpus placed a ring of keys in Safar’s hand. “Pass them out to your kind; the largest key is to the armory on this level.” He arose from Safar’s position. “We will probably never cross paths again. If you survive where we have failed, then let none dispute your right to freedom!” Safar did not thank him; he clenched the key ring in his hand and lifted himself to his feet. Corpus was already leaving when he found the strength to make his way back to the prison; he would keep the promise to his brother! The Liberation of Kellasento Corpus’ words haunted Safar as he hobbled back to his brother’s cell. He was barely a match for one of those creatures, how could the slaves of Kellasento repel the Supremacy? It is ridiculous to think that they could succeed where hardened Vathtor could not. Safar spit on the ground as he pictured Corpus’ face. Those condescending eyes were all he’d ever known. They’d always be there as thousands of Safar’s brothers and sisters were worked to death. If he had his way, he’d gouge out a Vathtor eye for every human who died from their negligence. It was in this moment that Safar promised himself that the ancients would burn at the hands of men…granted he survived this. Upon reaching Loth’s cell he quickly opened it, immediately embracing his brother in a long overdue hug. Loth noticed Safar’s arm and tore the shirt from his back to bandage it. He could not believe that Safar actually came back. This was only the beginning. Safar screamed out to the animated slaves. “This is it humans! This is the only chance we’re ever going to get to show these damned abominations what it is like to face the fury of man! Outside the Supremacy is coming for us, and the Vathtor are losing their fight. We will take their weapons and purge every foe in our way!” Safar began distributing keys as he walked down the corridor. “Take arms! Take all your fury and rage and thrust it through the heart of every non-human you can find!” The cell-block was alive with rage. Humans were flooding the underground now, frantically freeing one another. Any demons lingering in the halls were overwhelmed by the swarms of mad slaves. On the surface the Supremacy had all but broken the last of the Vathtor defenders. But they had bought enough time to see the floods of man pouring from every entrance to the underground. The race of man wasted no time swarming the remaining Vathtor, brutally massacring them with a sense of divine justice. Loth carried the weight of his brother as they made their way to the surface. Upon reaching the main square Safar gazed upon the floods of man clashing against the oncoming Supremacy. The Supremacy was outnumbered and quickly fell to the hordes. To Safar, this was the greatest day of his life. Even though his injuries were vast, he staggered through the streets of Kellasento, ending all who dared stand before him. As Corpus said, this was the age of man now. Kellasento had fallen to the salves and they had no intention of ever giving it back! Safar climbed the walls to look out at his new world. But his bliss was shattered by the sight of the Supremacy’s second battalion. The swarms of demons were only the beginning as ranks upon ranks of Katawile began marching on the keep. Again that same despair felt in the dungeons hit Safar. How could his freedom be ended so soon? How could there truly be gods if this was the nature of reality? He cast a stone out over the walls. Crying back to his brother. “The Katawile have come for us now!” Safar descended back to the main square. He made his way back to his brother, embracing him again. “If this is our end, I am glad to meet it here with you. This is a death I am proud to share with you, for today I do not die in chains.” Loth rested his forehead against his brothers, grasping Safar’s long black hair in his fist. He whispered one simple sentence “To the last man.” Safar broke his embrace and lifted his sword to the heavens, bellowing a rallying call to all his kind, “To the last man!” The Katawile forces would be upon the gates any minute now. The race of man, animated with a newfound sense of zeal, braced the keep for the ultimate last stand! Safar collapsed in the square, weak from the incredible blood loss. Loth rushed to his side, holding Safar’s head against his chest. The insanity around him seemed to descend into a crawl. Loth feared he brother's end would come any minute now. The clamors of darkness echoed all around them now. The Katawile breached the front gates and met the inexperience of man with the fury of a war-hardened race. Men did not flee though, wave after wave rushed to meet their demise with cold iron in hand. And then it happened. The skies broke, echoing a terrible thunder across the land. And from the heavens descended the Sein’Overdine. His pure azure flames incinerating any Katawile within the keep. The Katawile terror masked the clamors of war now. As they fled into the surrounding fields and forests. Chaos-stricken, the remnants of that army were caught in the furious waves of Kelm-fire the Sein’Overdine commanded. The legendary son of Kelm, the Sein'Overdine: Residen had guaranteed the fate of man that day. Confused, Residen walked among the slaves, asking for the leader of man. Every slave parted for Residen, until a path was clear to Safar and Loth. Loth shook Safar, snapping him back to reality. Safar was weak, but what he could make out from Residen were his glowing blue eyes. He mumbled to Loth as Residen approached "Those damn eyes..." Safar struggled to his feet, Loth aided him, stabilizing him so he could meet the godspawn. "I will never regress to that cell." Safar called out to Residen. Residen raised his hand, as if to conjure another Kelm-flame. This was it then, Safar would meet his demise at the hands of the war god's only forsaken son. Residen spoke softly, "Children of Kelm, you were created powerless. However, that powerlessness is not your finality! You are unlike the other beasts of this world. Humanity would not be bound to a frivolous singular existence! You will be manifold, like the universe that spawned this realm. Kelm did not create you to regress to that of the beasts. He created you to forge the world like the gods." Safar laughed, sinking to the ground. Residen called out to him, "What is your name child?" Safar continued to laugh, "Slaves do not have names godspawn." Residen smiled, "Then I shall give you your names. You will be Safar and Loth, a reminder of the fragility of this world. The world you will soon come to protect!" ''(The reference to the names Safar and Loth in this previous section has been for clarity. I am well aware they were nameless prior to this encounter) First Law of the Residen